When Polish Your Countertop Surface

2019-02-01

When you polish your countertop, keeping the head of your polisher flat and level with your slab top. A flexible backer pad will allow your polishing pad to bend on the edges, while a rigid backer will leave swirl marks when you tilt or dip your grinder.

When you use the polisher, you can try putting one hand on the head of the polisher, instead use the handle of the grinder. This will keep the weight in the middle of the pad instead of off to one side.

There is a little difference between 5-inch pads and 4-inch polishing pads. Usually, 5-inch pads are better for top polishing than 4-inch pads because it can give a bigger base and cover more surface area. Also it can finish quicker than 4-inch pads.

If you have a radius edge that you want to polish, try a flexible backer pad. Just a little bit of flex in the backer will bend around your radius and eliminate lines that can occur from using a rigid backer. That said, using a rigid backer on the flat edge will help you to stay flat the same way that it does when top polishing. For example, if you are attempting to polish a standard 3/8-inch round over, use a rigid backer on the flat edge underneath your round and a flexible backer for the actual radius. Move your polisher left and right across your edge. Do not roll it up and down - this will make your edge wavy.